Easy, Paleo ‘Peanut’ Butter Cups

Rich dark chocolate and creamy almond butter turn this classic candy you know and love into Paleo-friendly ‘peanut’ butter cups with a few simple tricks.

It’s getting to be that ghoulishly delightful time of year. Stores are stocking their aisles full of Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters who will soon be filling the streets and ringing doorbells at a spooky town near you. Having all these bags of candy around the house can be very tempting, even for the seasoned Paleo dieter. But with a batch of this almond butter and dark chocolate version of peanut butter cups, you can satisfy your sweet tooth and get a healthy dose of anti-oxidants, too.

These two-bite ‘peanut’ butter cups take just an hour to whip up and require no baking at all. Simply melt the dark chocolate and stir in a little coconut oil. Fill the bottom of paper-lined mini muffin tins with the melted chocolate. Next, a dollop of almond butter lightly sweetened with maple syrup fills the center. Press the almond butter gently with fingertips to reach the edges. One more layer of dark chocolate is drizzled on top to seal it all together.

A key step in this recipe is freezing after each layer is added to get nice uniform layers. Finish with coarse sea salt for that decadent, salty-sweet combo and your cups are ready to eat. Classic Reese’s don’t have the sea salt topping, but I can’t resist an opportunity to add sea salt to sweet recipes, especially ones that contain dark chocolate.

This recipe is perfect for both adults and kids, plus it makes for the healthier treats during parties. Store your almond butter cups in the freezer or refrigerator when not serving.

In a small bowl, combine maple syrup with almond butter. Stir until smooth.

Remove chocolate from freezer and spoon a teaspoonful of almond butter on top of chocolate. Use fingers to smooth out almond butter and cover chocolate. Place in freezer 15 minutes.

Melt the other cup of chocolate chips and stir in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil until smooth. Use a tablespoon to layer chocolate over the almond butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and return to freezer for 20 minutes.

Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Pro Tips:

Use a natural almond butter that has the oil on top; this makes it much easier to spread when it comes time to layering over the chocolate.

Be sure to use dark chocolate that is at least 70% cacao (the higher the better) to reap all of the antioxidant benefits.

Jennafer Ashley

Jenna is a Registered Dietetic Technician and recipe developer specializing in healthy eating. She styles and photographs recipes for her website, Fresh and Fit , as well as contributes to a variety of websites. In her free time, Jenna enjoys trying new restaurants and hiking with her German Shepherd.